Scythe of Nod
by SchattenSturm
Summary: An account of Kane's most trusted general, Kilian Qatar, from the beginning of the Third Tiberium War to her downfall. 1st fanfic
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

She brushed her hair away from her face, flicking away a loose strand which had trapped itself in her fingernails with a slight twinge of annoyance. She then moved her hands to smooth the black leather she always wore as part of her official duties, feeling slightly bored with the proceedings. She turned to glance at the man sitting some twenty meters away, making sure to show her impatience. He gave her a nervous thumbs-up and waved for his men to speed up. He bumbled over to her and saluted.

"General Q-Qatar," he stuttered. Despite being taller than the particularly high-ranking woman in front of him, he was still cowed by her presence. Kilian hardly shifted her gaze to acknowledge his presence and kept her eyes on the flustered camera crew in front of her. Apparently, one of the sound synchronization devices was malfunctioning, and without it, whoever was speaking in the video recordings would seem to its audience to have mastered the art of ventriloquism as well as silent speech. She did not want to be that someone, so she had ordered for a technical team to be sent up. That had been two hours ago.

"General Qatar, w-we are unable to f-f-fix the problem soon. Th-there seems to b-be a miss-ss-ing connection."

Kilian now turned her full gaze upon the man, incredulity written all over her features. Much as he looked like he had wanted to break the Shadows' best record for sprinting, the jittery technician simply shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Missing connection? Are you suggesting that there is a thief amongst us? In Temple Prime?"

"No! No!" he blurted out shrilly, "S-s-someone must have l-left the w-wire some p-p-p-place else when the ren-n-novations were complete! I'm sorry, General!" He swept the cap off his head and bowed his head.

Kilian sighed and clicked her tongue in annoyance and irritation. She did not have all day to do this. Kane wanted the videos done fifteen minutes ago. She looked at the pathetic wreck of a man in front of her. _No wonder the Brotherhood had to conceal itself for so long_, she thought. It was people like these who would have sabotaged everything out of idiocy! The Brotherhood had to operate with finesse and grace, and not blunder along like GDI who were always one step behind.

"Find a replacement recording device, and do it quickly!" She concealed most of her venom this time. Inept as the technician was, it was simply unfortunate that the devices were not working. She did, however, feel slightly better after lashing out. She looked as the technical team blustered out of the room to find whatever replacement they could, then drew her VidComm device out of her back pocket. These were ultra-light, ultra-flexible communication devices that all Nod high-ranking officers carried around. If there were no convenient EVA Communications units around, they would use these as back-ups instead. There was no EVA unit in the room; Kane failed to see the need for one used for recording. 

Kilian pulled open the device and the translucent plastic screen which had been folded in the two pods which made up the device became rigid. She would need to tell Kane about the delay. He responded almost immediately after she entered the appropriate communication code.

"What is it, Kilian?" The charismatic voice of the Prophet of Ascension rang loud and clear from the device's speakers. It was that voice which had drawn her to the Brotherhood as an adolescent and she would never forget its soothing yet commanding tone. It was that voice which had administered to her broken spirit when her parents had been killed in an artillery blast. It had always brought her assurance and peace of mind.

"There appears to be a problem with the acoustic recording device. The broadcast will be delayed by some time."

The prophet's face appeared thoughtful. This was the face which struck fear into the hearts of so many and it was the same face which brought hope to many more.

"Hmm…how unfortunate… It is no matter, Kilian. The broadcast will just have to be held back."

"Thank You for Your understanding, Your Eminence. I will inform You once it is done."

"No need. Just bring the drive up to me." Kane then signed off, and where his face had once been was now static. At that very moment, the technical team returned. The leader, who had been shivering in his boots when speaking to Kilian, enthusiastically held up a palm-sized silvery box with a large glass aperture at one end.

It took a lot of Kilian's mental effort not to sneer loudly at what he was holding. She looked at the brand name belonging to a now extinct Japanese electronics empire. It had to belong in the 20s, no, even before that. She would be willing to bet that it had been launched on the market at the time when the prophet had made his very first public speech.

"Will the sound quality be acceptable?" was all she could ask without sounding sarcastic.

"Y-yes, General. We will b-be able t-to perform some touch-ching up after filming."

Kilian sighed again, then signaled for them to be ready to begin the shoot. As the technicians moved quickly to set the studio up, she went through the speech over in her head again. Even as a sergeant during the silent build-up of the Brotherhood, she had always possessed a gift for speech and debate. It was her ability to convince, command and control that had attracted the attention of the prophet. Some of her subordinates compared her to Kane, but she knew better than to say that her skills were better than the prophet's. He had a well of experience and talent infinitely deeper than hers. At the very least, she could say with complete honesty that she was better than Brother Confessor Marcion, whose attitude for pomp and circumstance disgusted her. She smiled inwardly as she thought of Kane's constant irritation at the flamboyant attitude of Marcion.

"Ready, General?" Kilian snapped out of her thoughts and nodded curtly. "Alright, three…two…one…" At the lead technician's mark, she began speaking.

"Welcome to the Brotherhood of Nod. You have joined a global order with millions of members all working together in harmony…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Interesting tool, the scythe."

Kilian looked curiously at the prophet as he walked around his desk to show her a valued antique. She had never noticed its existence till now, although she thought she might have remembered seeing dark shapes in the glass case on the little table behind the prophet's desk.

"Yes, the scythe. Ancient farmers used it to reap their crops. They separated the useful from the unsightly. With this, they harvested that which sustained them and destroyed that which was useless."

Kane now paced around the room, tapping the flat side of the rusty iron blade on his palm. Kilian's gaze followed him.

"And yet, as all tools of peace go, they all have another side to them," said the prophet as he turned the crescent blade around, beholding its somewhat ugly brown glow in the light of the room. He continued, "The scythe is also a symbol of bloodshed. Kali, the goddess of death, wields a scythe. The Okinawans turned their scythes and sickles into deadly _kama_ for assassins."

Kane now replaced the weapon back in the glass case and took his seat. "Do you understand why I have called you here, Kilian?"

Rising to her position in the Inner Circle meant that she had to be a sharp and discerning woman. Kilian did not disappoint.

"You wished to speak with me of the significance of my position, Your Eminence."

"Indeed, Kilian. You are a Pillar of Nod. You embody the Scythe of Nod. It is you who will separate the goats from the sheep within the Brotherhood, Kilian. You too, are the the greatest weapon that Nod will wield. The Sword may be flexible and graceful and the Hammer may be powerful and brutal. But it is the Scythe that is versatile and deadly." Kane spread his arms out and smiled slightly. "Moreover, your enemies will never expect you to draw a scythe in battle to match their blade."

"Recognize, Kilian, your importance to Nod and to me. Now, Marcion may embody the Black Hand of Nod, but I fear that despite his competence at battle, his tendencies will only lead to the Hand being crushed underfoot by GDI."

"You will be of most value in the times to come, Kilian. Soon, the Brotherhood of Nod, the symbol of the oppressed wanderers, will utter its rallying call and rein in all the faithful. We will rise like we have never done before, and this time, victory will ultimately belong to us."

"One Vision, One Purpose, Your Eminence."

"Verily, verily." Kane then smiled. "The first death will be justified."

* * *

**Author's Note**: I realize this is an incredibly short addition in a very long time. I apologize. My school's final year exams have just started and Complex Numbers, Integration, Nucleophilic Substitution and a whole other bunch of topics from the five subjects I have exams for are killing my brain and my writing along with it. There's going to be a lot more imagery and contrast with other religions in Kane's speeches, and I'm thinking of doing a chapter where the Inner Circle convene to speak with Kane on how to strike the first blow to GDI. Until then.

* * *


End file.
